20. 20
Ava’s day seemed to crawl by. Not because she wasn’t busy, she was. But it wasn’t what she wanted to be doing. She’d hated watching Cowboy leave that morning, even knowing she’d see him again in a few hours.
Nor could she not keep him off her mind, but every time she moved, her body reminded her of all the delicious ways he’d shown her to find pleasure. She had several aches and possibly a couple of bruises, not that she regretted a single second of it. Every twinge and throb were a reminder and she wanted to close her eyes and relive every moment, not that she had time to indulge.
Finally, at the end of the day, she clocked out and headed out to the car, digging in her purse for her keys and phone as she walked. When she reached the car, she started it and sat inside with the door open, scanning her messages while she waited for the AC to cool down.
She frowned at the screen when she saw a message from Aaron. He didn’t text her often. She wondered what he wanted. When she opened the message, she stared at the screen for several seconds.
Aaron: WHY AM I JUST FINDING OUT NOW THAT YOU’RE DATING A BIKER. HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRISPONSIBLE. WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS. CALL ME.
He didn’t text her often enough to know if this was just how he used his phone. She didn’t think so but would hate to jump to the wrong conclusion.
Ava closed the door, dialed Belinda, and put the car in gear, knowing the call would go over the speakers in the car.
“Hey, you must have just gotten out of work. What’s up?”
“Is Aaron still out of town?”
“Yeah, he won’t be home until the middle of next week, why?”
“I got a text from him while I was at work. He doesn’t text me often. Does he often leave it on caps when he texts?”
Belinda was quite a moment. “Um. No. He is usually really careful not to do that. What did he send you?”
“He found out about Cowboy and is apparently not happy I’m dating a biker.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was a secret. It came up when I talked to him this morning, and I told him what you’d told me.”
“No worries. It isn’t a secret. I’d just not told him until I decided I was going to keep seeing Cowboy, and the subject hadn’t come up since then.”
“I’m sorry he shouted at you over text. I’m even more sorry it’s my fault.” Belinda’s voice was sincere.
Ava didn’t blame her but now that she knew she hadn’t taken her brother’s text wrong, she needed to figure out how she was going to respond to him.
She chatted with Belinda for a few more minutes, then rang off just before she got home. She had a few things she wanted to get done before Cowboy arrived. One of them was contacting Aaron.
Inside, she put away her bag and headed into the bedroom to change clothes. On the way, she typed up her text to her brother.
Ava: Yes, I’m dating a biker. We can discuss it after you get home, and only if you’re going to be an adult. I will not listen to you yell at me over my choices.
She stared at the screen a moment after she hit send, wondering if she’d done the right thing. Then she added another message and hit send.
Ava: and no, I’m not going to stop seeing him just because you don’t like the idea. It would have to be some damning evidence about him specifically. Or you can meet him and maybe get to know him. Like an adult.
With that chore done, she tossed her phone on the bed and peeled out of her work clothes. She stood in front of her closet for a couple of minutes, trying to decide what to wear. She wanted to be comfortable, but she also wanted to look nice for Cowboy.
After a bit she settled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, opting to go barefoot because her feet ached. She’d just finished dressing when someone knocked on her door. A glance at the bedside clock told her it was a quarter to six. A little early for Cowboy, but not out of the question.
At the door, she assumed it was Cowboy and opened it without checking to see who it was. It wasn’t until she stepped back to let him in that she realized the man on the other side of the door wasn’t Cowboy.
The man standing there was someone she didn’t recognize and didn’t think she’d ever seen before. She stepped forward, pulling the door from all the way open, hoping to keep him from stepping inside.
“Can I help you?” She did her best to keep her tone polite, but something about him set off alarm bells in her mind.
“You sure can, sweetheart. You can come with me.”
Before Ava had a chance to tell him no or close the door, he pushed his way inside. He grabbed one arm and twisted it behind her so that ever time she moved or tried to fight, a shooting pain shot through her shoulder.
“What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”
“They messed with the wrong man. I’m going to teach them a lesson.” The stranger kept his hold on her arm as he steered her down the hall and into the elevator. Then out of the building and into the parking lot. She didn’t see anyone around.
Why was there no one around when she needed them? What would Cowboy think when he found her apartment door standing open and her nowhere to be found?
These thoughts and a million more raced through her head as he forced her into the back seat of a car that had been idling in a parking space, then followed her into the seat. There was another man in the driver’s seat and as soon as the door closed, the car backed out of the space and left.
Why hadn’t she listened to Cowboy and checked who was at the door before opening it?